Have you started brewing your own pour over coffee yet?  If not, now is a great time to start, since good quality tools are both cheap and easy to find.  The best part of pour over coffee is that it’s a fresh and flavorful cup like you would expect at a coffee shop, but you can do it in your own kitchen.

Pour over coffee is more like meditation, since there is no coffee machine involved.  It might seem intimidating at first, but the process is quite simple.  You’ll need something to boil water in, which can be a basic tea pot, electric glass or steel kettle, or specific goose-neck coffee water pitcher.  The other equipment is also simple.  You can use a coffee dripper with a filter insert, or you can use a glass carafe like a Chemex. The dripper sits just above your mug, so it’s probably the best option to get started.

Then, you get to choose your coffee.  Lighter roasts tend to work a little bit better, since the slow brew can bring out more flavor.  Dark roasts and mediums also work perfectly well, and will taste richer than they would in a mechanical coffee brewer.

Use about two tablespoons of coffee for a large mug, and grind your beans to the texture of rough sea salt.  The filter goes in the dripper, the ground coffee goes in the filter, and the whole thing just gets set on your mug.  Bring your water to a boil, and let it set for a couple of minutes to cool off just a bit.

Now there’s a bit of technique to master.  Pour just enough water over the grounds to wet them and drip a small bit into the cup.  Wait until it’s almost completely drained, it should be about a minute or two, then pour over enough water to cover the grounds.  It will slowly filter down into the mug.  Pour more water over the grounds until your mug is full, wait an extra minute or so for the coffee to completely filter, then remove the dripper.

Prepare yourself for one of the freshest tasting cups of coffee you’ll ever have.  Your handcrafted coffee was made without plastics, created minimal waste, and cost a fraction of what you’d normally pay in a café.

Enjoy!